Impossible to answer without a serial number.
A Colt ds .38 special with the serial number C44027 without the S on the end was made in 1973.
S&W never made a detective special. Colt made the Detective Special
Produced in 1973.
Sometime after 1978.The list I have only goes to 1978. Serial # with S prefix started in 1978 with S01001
http://proofhouse.com/colt shows 1930 for the serial number but without the "S" My production date list shows 1930: 383001-400000 and 1978 starting S01001,so it would be 1978 or after.
Colt 38 special police edition s/n 18759
It looks like a Gold Desert Eagle (ca. 0.50).
From what I was able to find, the post-1993 guns had "composite" (rubber), wrap-around grips with gold medallion.
You will need to call Colt. Best guess is sometime in the 90's.
The Colt .38 Police Positive Special serial # 26348 M was produced in 1977.(19201M-59999M) made about 1908 ?For what it's worth my records show that in 1908 the serial #'s 1 through 12999 were produced.
.38 Special. It can also fire .38 Short Colt and .38 Long Colt. Do not attempt to fire .38 S&W from a .38 Special.
about 1940